ANC Supports RiverFront on the Anacostia Project at Zoning Hearing

Late last week, a zoning commission meeting brought the RiverFront on the Anacostia project one small step closer to fruition.

The 1.1-million-square-foot mixed-use project, which was designed by SK&I architects and is situated on the Anacostia River just south of Nationals Park, had a hearing in front of the DC Zoning Commission Thursday night. While commissioners were noncommittal, requiring supplemental information from Florida Rock Properties (FRP) and Mid-Atlantic Realty Partners (MRP), the developers, the coup was a letter of support from the local ANC commission covering the site.


The zoning commission originally approved plans for the 5.5 acre site back in 2008, but the developers proposed last year to change the project’s first phase from office space to 300-350 residential units, given the current dismal situation for office space in the neighborhood. A February 2012 hearing didn’t go well—the commissioners all but told the developers to start all over with the designs—but John Begert with MRP Realty said this one seemed a little better, though he didn’t draw any conclusions. “We feel like our presentation went pretty positively, and that’s kind of all you know,” he said.

The commissioners tasked the developers with sending in additional information, including clarifications on the project’s roof plan and how an alley running through the development will be designed. The developers will submit the information within two weeks, but the commission may not make a decision until later this year or even early 2013.

Still, support from the ANC was good news.  "After presenting at multiple monthly ANC meetings and working with the ANC and my SMD’s Citizens’ Development Advisory Committee, the development team presented a final plan this month that we were happy to support,” wrote ANC 6D commissioner David Garber, whose district includes the site, in a letter dated September 20. “The elements of this most recent plan that we hope you will join us in specifically supporting are its engaging architecture, creative and usable public space, ground floor and roof-top retail, and the promised play installation designed specifically for children that is noted in the plan but will be laid out as part of a future phase of the PUD.”


The project’s first phase is a nine-story building that will feature almost 19,000 square feet of retail space and a small amount of affordable housing; 8 percent of its residential units will be priced at 80 percent of the area median income. The project will also include an expansive public section: picture wide green lawns, wetlands-type areas that act as bio-filtration mechanisms for stormwater management, and tree covered spaces, as well as a marina that could accommodate up to 50 boats.

The project, a former concrete plant, is set at the foot of the South Capitol Street Bridge, and has been in the works off and on since 1998.  The developers have more plans for the property, but subsequent phases are several years down the road.

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Florida Rock Development Reboots, Meets Resistance

With demolition of the concrete plant finally complete, RiverFront on the Anacostia, the on-again off-again Southeast waterfront mega-project is on, again - pending various hearings, presentations, meetings, and ultimate approval of some very substantial changes to the zoning application.

Developers Patriot Transportation Holding Inc. and Midatlantic Realty Partners LLC (MRP) filed a modification with the Zoning Commission last month to, among other things, modify the Phase One building from an office complex to a residential building. The proposed residential building would be nine stories tall and include up to 350 units, 286 underground parking spaces, and 300,000 square feet of gross floor area (8% of which would be set aside for affordable housing at 80% of AMI). The new filing retains the 12,500 s.f. of retail space for lease, but now wants to earmark 7,000 s.f. as "flex space" or "residential amenity space."

Last week, the Zoning Commission gave their first impressions of the new plans, and it wasn't pretty. One commissioner called it "an affront" and a "bastardization," even going so far as to suggest the developers might have to start the PUD process from square one. Another excoriated the developers from reducing the initial 80,000 s.f. of retail space to under 24,000 s.f. in the latest filing, with 7,000 of that possibly being converted to non-retail "flex space." Even the most positive board member damned the project with faint praise - characterizing it as an improvement on the original PUD, but "boring" and "simplistic." In the end, the board deferred a decision, and the next public hearing is on February 13.

The new building, designed by SK&I, is U-shaped, facing the river, with a private inner courtyard. On the east side is a planned greenspace (Anacostia Plaza) and on the west side, in between the Phase One building and the Phase Two (also residential) building, another large plaza (the Mews) that "privileges pedestrians over vehicles." The new landscape plan, by Oculus, uses the idea of "ecotone" (in the report, this is defined as "an ecological term referring to the transitional zone between two ecologies") to create an impressive stormwater management and filtration system that will both provide lush public native plant green spaces, and filter runoff. (And the Anacostia River can use all the help it can get.)

Phases II (a 262K s.f., 130-foot tall residential building), III (326K s.f., 130-foot tall office building), and IV (275K s.f., 130-foot tall hotel) are unchanged. FRP anticipates a Q2 2013 groundbreaking, with move-ins starting in Q1 2015, and everything wrapped up by that summer.

Big picture, the plan is cut from the same cloth as the plans for the Wharf and the Maryland Avenue redevelopments. (There are only so many ways to skin a cat, after all.) Much like those plans, this latest filing is hoping that their conversion of the Phase One building from office to residential "will provide the critical mass of people necessary in order to support future office and retail uses." Of course, this could take a while, which is the thinking behind the "flex space." What if they build it, but people don't come? The plan also asks for permission to use the Phase II/III/IV sites for interim projects like a farmer's market or temporary retail, rather than letting those spaces remain dormant. It's a good strategy to lure more people to the area, and can only help not just their development, but the neighborhood as a whole as it gears up to make the transition to world-class waterfront. But first, developers need to win over the Zoning Commission, which is proving to be a harder task than they may have anticipated. 

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Anacostia Riverwalk Trail Gets a New Extension

The goal of a 20-mile trail to line both sides of the Anacostia River is getting one step closer. Forest City, which is the middle of a developing much of the Capitol Riverfront waterfront and sponsored the trail, will hold a ceremony tomorrow to unveil its latest section: a 611 foot pedestrian bridge connecting Diamond Teague Park and the Park at the Yards. The new bridge will surmount the DC Water facility now dividing the two parks, furthering the pedestrian path that will eventually parallel the Anacostia River and wrap around Buzzards Point, connecting northeast D.C., the southwest waterfront, and the tidal basin. (photo below credit to Capitol Riverfront BID)

The bridge - an arched pier with wood (ipe) planking and steel cabled rails - was designed by Paul Friedberg of MPFP LLC, a New York landscape architecture and urban planning firm that designed the neighboring park and Capitol Riverfront's first footbridge (pictured at right).

The new bridge will rise up to 18 feet above the average waterline to allow service boats to access the O Street pumping station, which pumps water to the Blue Plains treatment facility. The incandescently lit pier will offer interpretive graphics talking about the use of water and history of DC water.

Diamond Teague Park, just below Nationals Stadium, now becomes the western terminus of bike trail. Michael Stevens, Executive Director for the Capitol Riverfront Business Improvement District, says the next westward expansion depends on development of the Florida Rock development site, which is still in the planning stages. Stevens predicts that by 2013 the trail could connect the baseball stadium to Minnesota Benning.

Bridging the Waterfront in Southeast

Everyone loves a great bridge. Planners in southeast D.C. will capitalize on that sentiment as they begin work on a bridge, possibly as early as this week, that will extend the Anacostia riverwalk between Diamond Teague Park and the Park at the Yards. The 611 foot structure will surmount the DC Water facility now dividing the two parks, furthering the pedestrian path that will eventually parallel the Anacostia River and wrap around Buzzards Point, connecting northeast D.C., the southwest waterfront, and the tidal basin.

The bridge - a slightly arched, elongated pier with wood planking and steel cabled rails - is being designed by Paul Friedberg of MPFP LLC, a New York landscape architecture and urban planning firm that designed the neighboring park and eye catching footbridge, both completed last year, which have achieved both critical acclaim and public success.

MPFP Managing Principal Rick Parisi says the new span, a pier with piles, will feature an Ipe deck to match the boardwalk, with stainless steel cable rails, gently arcing from elevation 13 (above median water line), rising to elevation 18, and sloping back down to elevation 7, allowing service boats to access the O Street pumping station, where DC Water manages overflow from sewers and rain. The incandescently lit pier will offer wayfarers an overlook opposite the pumping station with interpretive graphics, some in the ground, some in vertical planes. Parisi says the graphics will "talk about the use of water and history of DC water, improving the quality of water and uses of water today." The architect says work could start as soon as this week, as piles have to be completed by end of March, before the start of spawning season (for fish, not architects).Though the bridge will enhance park aesthetics, the ultimate goal is linking the piecemeal trail along the riverfront and its federal, District, and private property owners. The capitol riverfront trail has already opened between Benning Road and the 11th Street Bridge, the next obstacle is the Navy Yard, where the trail is built but not yet open to the public.Claire Schaefer, Deputy Executive Director for the Capitol Riverfront Business Improvement District, says the bridge "will start to create that feeling of promenade." Soon pedestrians will be able to stroll from the old soccer stadium to the new baseball stadium and on to the new soccer stadium in Buzzards Point without ever leaving the waterfront. Well, maybe. The newest installment of that promenade is being cosponsored by the D.C. government, DC Water, and Forest City.
Bridge photo courtesy Capitol Riverfront Business Improvement District

Washington D.C. real estate development news

DC's Islands to Reopen - Better, Greener, Smarter

50 acres of island in the Anacostia River will soon reopen to the public, now with more federal dollars, a new educational mission, and a greener look. Kingman and Heritage Islands, both closed last September for a makeover, will come back online within the next week as recreational parks with a mandate for environmental education, and a new federal law to fund restoration and education.

The islands have had their challenges - begotten from a polluted source, the islands were created from the residue of dredging excessive agricultural sedimentation that gummed up the Anacostia, the never ending recipient of the trash-laden effluvium. Kingman (42 acres) and Heritage (7 acres) are now in the midst of a restoration that will eventually add 3 outdoor classrooms spaces, a 9/11 memorial grove, outdoor seating, and observation deck. Preservationists will add a nursery where the public can make their own contribution with tree plantings, and habitat restoration will remove a host of invasive species - from trees to groundcovers - and replace them with "an extensive list" of native species.

Lee and Associates, a DC based landscape architectural firm, is working with the District to give the parks a more natural aesthetic, while keeping the visitor center, hiking and biking trails and building environmental workshops in "outdoor classrooms." Access points are being improved - from both sides of the river - at Benning Rd. and from RFK stadium (parking lot #6). Living Classrooms, hired by the District in 2008 to manage the parks, provides the educational element with environmental instruction throughout the school year and volunteer opportunities in the summer, highlighting the challenges of environmental stewardship in an urban setting. "We see the trash flow down the river," says Matt English, Kingman Island Programs Coordinator for Living Classrooms, of the distant tidal forces that raise the water levels up to 3 feet, "and then we see it flow back up."

But thanks to more federal largess - President Obama just signed a bill providing funding to restore the Anacostia River ecosystem - and to educational efforts, conservationists hope that will be a decreasing problem. Footbridges to both parks allow for ample public access when the parks reopen. Matt English says the next event is scheduled for the Martin Luther King holiday, so the team is working to finish the first of three phases before that date. "Fingers crossed," says English.

Washington DC real estate development news

Two-Mile Missing Link on Anacostia Trails Coming Soon

The undeveloped land between Bladensburg Waterfront Park and the National Arboretum will soon see a spike in the ratio of aluminum and spandex to natural habitat, as cyclists will be gifted a $1.3 million trail system serving as a nexus for bikers coming from Prince George's County into the District of Columbia. Construction on the coupling bike paths began in late June and the official opening is expected by the end of this calendar year, just in time for anxious winter-cycling enthusiasts.

Once finished, the link will add an already operable and underutilized 24 miles of Maryland trails (Anacostia Tributary Trail System) to 16 miles of trails in the District (Anacostia Riverfront Trail). About half of the District's involved trails are already completed, and the other half are currently under construction. For those willing to tolerate the sweat-soaked business attire that accompanies environmental stewardship, the trails will potentially serve as a commuting option for Marylanders coming into the city for work.

The area on which the proposed trail system will be built is in much better shape than it was a decade ago. An $8.5 million wetland rehabilitation effort in 2006 helped beautify the former dump site, but limited access into the area has made it difficult for citizens to recognize the dramatic improvement. The new trail will not only provide new options for commuters, but open the 22 acres of wetlands and wildlife to cycling and hiking eco-tourists looking for exercise and the chance at spotting a bald eagle or oh-so-adorable muskrat.

This much needed link was targeted by Gov. Martin O'Malley as Maryland's highest-priority trail project in his Maryland Trails Plan, made public earlier this spring. Mayor Fenty and his administration remain vocal in their commitment to providing the proper funding and support to ensure completion and maintenance of the link and involved trail-ways on the District's side of the border.

"This is just the first of eight major, missing-link projects proposed by the governor," explains Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) spokeswoman Erin Henson, "that when fully completed will connect over 800 miles of trail-ways. The goal is to encourage people to get out of their cars by offering transportation alternatives to commuters. The projects also intends to provide citizens with opportunities for a healthier, more active lifestyle, while connecting them to the local environment."

Washington D.C. Transportation News

Anacostia River Town Gets Makeover with Clean River Approach

When a small town two miles northeast of Washington DC on the Anacostia River pondered its flooding problems, tarmac-like streets, lack of an urban center and the health of its residents, an urban design solution came to mind: the green, efficient and attractive redesign of its main residential strip; but the real beneficiary was to be the health of the Anacostia River.

The township, a short bike ride away from DC, revels in its small-town feel and celebrates its connection to the Anacostia. Bike paths run the length of the river, here just north of where the Anacostia's two branches merge, the river at this point so shallow that scattered rocks serve as a footbridge in several places. But poor urban design plagues cities and towns across the United States that - like Edmonston, MD - were built in the post-automobile era. For decades, Edmonston's outdated and ailing infrastructure has been collecting industrial contaminants from paved areas and funneling them through the drainage systems into the Anacostia, floating through Washington DC into the Chesapeake. Despite the river's small size, flooding was a problem because of Edmonston's extremely low-lying position among surrounding towns with sprawling shopping centers and gargantuan parking lots that pushed water outward, requiring steep levees on the riverbanks. The city's streets were engineered for width and speed, despite frequent intersections and stop signs, leaving the car unrivaled on main street, with retail and foot traffic nonexistent.

That was the old Edmonston. In a single-handed bid to slow down traffic, encourage non-vehicular circulation and beautify the city, the suburban town began a makeover of its streets last year, expecting that its neighbors will emulate its efforts to maintain a healthier Anacostia.

With a boost from federal stimulus funding through the Chesapeake Bay Trust, Edmonston's Mayor Adam Ortiz initiated a project to green the town's main street. Applying smart growth principles, the plan for revamping the town's central artery includes the restoration of the native tree canopy to reduce urban heat island effect; wind-powered, down-pointing streetlamps with energy-efficient LED ballasts; four new bike lanes with permeable brick paving; wider sidewalks connected to regional bike trails; bump-outs to slow down traffic; and, most importantly, 90% on-site rainwater capture.
The plan exceeds the Maryland standard, which requires that the first inch of rainwater be captured for treatment on 50% of all impervious surfaces. Through the inclusion of rain gardens with bioretention cells on either side of the street, the plan provides for 1.33 inches of stormwater capture on 90% of all paved surfaces. Runoff drains into the rain gardens through sloped curb cuts with traditional curbside drainage in place as a fail-safe measure. On top of improving the town's image, the urban planning measures are expected to nearly eliminate the unfiltered runoff that can overwhelm the river.

The initiative will start small, greening just two-thirds of a mile of Decatur Street, creating a communal space primarily belonging to pedestrians, bikers and runners, and lastly the automobile. "Cars don't have rights; communities have rights,” Mayor Ortiz said in a lecture he delivered on July 8^th at the National Building Museum in Washington, DC as part of a series on green building practices. Thanks to $ 1.3 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding, Ortiz says his shovel-ready project sustained engaged citizen support, generated 50-60 new green jobs, and employed a 70 percent majority of local, minority-run consulting firms such as VMT Contractors and G&C Consultants of Prince George's County.

In the near future Edmonston plans on applying for more federal funding to expand its greening efforts. Speaking with DCMud, Mayor Ortiz said the town would be begin with its main thoroughfare then progress to industrial streets such as Buchanan St. and 49^th Avenue. He distinguished between the tangible and intangible effects of redesigning Decatur Street, which will serve as a park as much as it will a street, but community spirit and resident activity will create the sense of place. "Decatur Street is not about getting from point A to point B. We're looking at it as a sole community asset because it serves community purposes as public space,” he said.

Besides encouraging healthier lifestyles and celebrating the increasingly popular notion of a vibrant street life, the improvements on Decatur Street are expected to increase property values in a town where most single family homes are two-bedroom Sears model homes and ranches selling from $80,000-190,000, down 40 percent from two years ago. Plans include connecting Decatur Street to regional bike trails via the Hyattsville spur and the MBT bike trail, tying Edmonston to DC and the National Mall and regional trails. Bikers, runners and paddlers from the DC metropolitan area will have new and improved access to Edmonston, which boasts a model streetscape with interpretive signage explaining all the improvements to and history of Decatur Street.

Equipped with its own public works department, school system and local police force, and seeking resources to forge its own sustainable future, Edmonston officials do not shrink from holding the town up as a potential leader in urban planning and redesign. Immediately adjacent Bladensburg is duplicating storm water management efforts in a large waterfront park along the Anacostia.

Unlike bigger west-coast towns like Seattle and Portland, which have implemented green street initiatives on a much larger scale, Edmonston's 1500 residents are committed to setting a regional example in active, healthy communities with a vibrant street life, not only for the Washington, DC area, but also the mid-Atlantic. Mayor Ortiz equates sustainability with responsibility and calls for best practices to become common practices. More than anything, Ortiz hopes that Edmonston's success will serve as a model for other small towns in the Anacostia watershed. Committed to open-source information sharing, the town of Edmonston has made detailed information on the project available through the town's website.

Cohen Proposes Southeast Development

Though much has been made of the development plans in the Southeast ballpark area, another part of Near Southeast is finally getting some attention, not without drama. This week, the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) will review the Cohen Companies' plans to permanently close several unimproved streets that fall within the original L'Enfant city and are technically federal property, but that are now effectively segregated from all other life forms by the Southwest Expressway and Anacostia River. The intersection of 14th Street, M Street and Virginia Avenue in SE could get the addition of 815,000 s.f. of hotel, retail, office and commercial space, if the District and the Developer manage to jump some technical hurdles before a June 1, 2010 deadline. A little background: MIF Realty had a 99-year assignment agreement (lease) with the District for the Southwest Gangplank Marina. In June 1999, the Cohen Companies, under the name CASCO Marina LLC, sought to take over the leasehold from MIF, a contract between the two companies required that the lease transfer take place prior to November 22, 1999 or the contract would be automatically terminated. Enter the District. The District's Redevelopment Land Agency (RLA) stepped into the lease transfer, requesting several hearings and ultimately ruling that MIF was in default on the property for not having properly addressed damage and disposed of insurance proceeds. RLA would overlook the default in exchange for a re-negotiated lease for the marina upon the transfer to CASCO. The RLA officially handed down this decision on November 22, 1999 at which point MIF contested the default claims and simultaneously allowed the contract between CASCO and MIF to end. CASCO proceeded to sue the District for interference in the transaction and for $25 million in punitive damages. 

 After several suits and appeals, the District and CASCO eventually entered into a settlement agreement. The District will transfer the Southeast property, valued at $8 million, to the developers and ensure District support of the street closings and necessary zoning changes to allow a development with a 6.0 floor to area ratio density. In exchange for the land and support, the Cohen Companies will release its claim to a leasehold to the Gangplank Marina. The whole process has a ticking clock; if the land exchange, zoning and street closure approvals are not finalized by the June 1, 2010 deadline referenced above, then the Cohen Companies can withdraw from the agreement and could once again pursue a lawsuit against the District over the Southwest property and related punitive damages. The District Council in March approved the land transfer and density elements. The bill was then signed by the Mayor in April and will receive Congressional review. According to the NCPC staff report, the agreement should be law by May 27, 2010. NCPC will review the matter Thursday and submit its opinion to the Council for consideration, the Council will vote on the street closures bill this month. The street closures bill would exempt the developers from several requirements, such as paying rent on the closed street and from having to provide affordable housing to offset the increase in commercial space. NCPC's Staff Report finds fault with several elements of the plan, in both the agreement between the District and the developer and with the actual design. NCPC staff notes that the streets in question are part of the original L'Enfant Plan, and therefore owned by the federal government. But NCPC cannot actually administer the necessary bureaucratic smack down to resolve the conflict between District and the feds about the rights to transfer titles. NCPC's Staff Report also notes that the plan for bridges connecting the proposed buildings would block viewsheds (see image at left for the lovely view from the property line). Now, that's a familiar complaint...think streetcars. The staff recommended an approval of the initial design, but suggest the obstructing elements be kindly removed. The NCPC will take up the issue this Thursday. 

  Update: To clarify, the NCPC's stance on the viewsheds and vistas within the L'Enfant plan reflect the opinion of the District's own Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB). In January the HPRB recommended that "any encroachment on L'Enfant views and vistas be completely avoided or minimized to the maximum extent feasible." 

Washington, DC real estate development news

Anacostia River Park Unveiled Today

The District's $8 million Diamond Teague Park project officially opened today after breaking ground a little over a year ago. At 10:45 am today (11:15ish Fenty Standard Time), the Mayor and his entourage of Fenty for re-election volunteers gathered together with Earth Conservation Corps volunteers and Florence and Ivory Teague - parents of the slain teenager for whom the park is named - for a grand opening ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Located at First and Potomac SE on the Anacostia River, Diamond Teague Park's first steps toward fruition began when Mayor Anthony Williams facilitated jurisdictional control of the land and the defunct Capitol Pumphouse from the Federal government and into the hands of the District in 2006.

Before his murder in October 2003, 19-year old Diamond Teague served as a member of the Earth Conservation Corps, a non-profit organization committed to engaging youth in "activities that restore and clean the Anacostia River and surrounding communities." As part of its agreements with the District, Coastal Properties, a commercial dock operator, has agreed to hire students from the Corps to help maintain the park.

The park's two piers include a 250-foot commercial pier for the water taxi service that became available last summer and a 200-foot pier for docking kayaks and canoes. If funding comes through without a hitch, a concrete and steel, pyramid-shaped memorial designed by Byron Peck of City Arts could be showing up at the site by late October of this year. The Landscape Architecture Bureau designed the project.

Although the park is largely funded by the District, Maryland-based developer Florida Rock shelled out $800,000 toward the project as part of the community benefits agreed to in the PUD for it's neighboring RiverFront on the Anacostia development.

Washington, DC Real Estate Development News

DC Opens Ballpark Pier to Water Taxi

The District of Columbia announced today that it is ready to open water taxi service to the ballpark. The small Anacostia River pier, part of Diamond Teague Park, is adjacent to the Nationals ballpark, and will accommodate water taxi service to Maryland and Virginia, though not to other points within DC. At least not for now.


According to the District, six charter companies will operate up to a dozen different vessels, ranging in capacity up to 149 passengers, that will operate between the new pier, National Harbor, and Old Town, Alexandria. Service will be made available for all Nationals home games and "special events." But don't go queuing up for taxi service just yet, because its not available. While the pier is "open," that applies only to charter services that choose to operate. While the District-owned pier is technically available for taxi service, potentially to Georgetown and Southwest, operators that choose to establish service have not yet begun regular service, though individuals associated with the project expect that will happen for next year's games.

The surrounding park is not nearly complete, and isn't expected to be substantially complete until well after baseball season, leaving the District's announcement, following a canceled press conference, seeming in haste. The District government paid $8.5m for the new piers, the pier will be administered by the operators of the Gangplank Marina in Southwest DC.

The District government is also building a second pier at the same location, for "environmental education" and for smaller boats, which are expected to offer ecotourism up the Anacostia River.